The Fair Trade Commission is collecting opinions from related ministries and stakeholders regarding Kakao's delivery policy for 'KakaoTalk Gift.' Kakao has submitted a corrective plan to the Fair Trade Commission concerning the policy that only allows partnering companies to sell at prices that include delivery fees.
On the 11th, the Fair Trade Commission stated that it would conduct a 30-day opinion collection process regarding the consent resolution proposed by Kakao, related to allegations of violating the Large-Scale Distribution Business Act, until the 9th of next month. The target for opinion collection includes related ministries such as the Ministry of Justice and stakeholders such as suppliers, and anyone can submit opinions through the Fair Trade Commission's website.
The consent resolution proposed by Kakao includes provisions for ▲ guaranteeing delivery type selection rights for partnering companies, ▲ supporting suppliers with a minimum of 9.2 billion won, and ▲ introducing a Fair Trade Compliance Program (CP).
Consent resolution is a procedure where the business under investigation submits a voluntary corrective plan, and if the Fair Trade Commission determines that the plan is appropriate, the legality is not confirmed, allowing for a swift conclusion to the case.
Kakao is facing allegations of forcing companies listed on 'KakaoTalk Gift' to sell based on prices that include delivery fees. In this process, partnering companies could not choose paid delivery or conditional free delivery options, and there were issues with the commission being set based on the sales price.
Kakao applied for the start of the consent resolution process on October 31 last year, stating that it would prepare voluntary corrective measures for mutual cooperation instead of legal disputes. Subsequently, the Fair Trade Commission confirmed the start of the consent resolution on January 10 this year.
The Fair Trade Commission plans to finalize the proposal after the opinion collection is completed and goes through deliberation and resolution. If the consent resolution is rejected, the Fair Trade Commission may proceed with sanction procedures again.